Maine mulling cancer warning labels on cellphones, manufacturers mulling warning label on Maine
By Chris Ziegler 
posted December 20th 2009 8:36PM
posted December 20th 2009 8:36PM
posted December 20th 2009 8:36PM
A look back on popular stories from today in a specific year.
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
oh yeah, and dont stand next to microwaves.
@(Unverified)
Then how will you watch your food as it cooks?????????
@(Unverified)
Your comment reminded me, I lost the game.
@(Unverified) I remember how Lisa Simpson was depressed when the doctor told her that sitting next to an open microwave was an invalid method of mutating her Homer genes. xD
FUCK, now I lost the game.
@(Unverified)
Well, RF radiation is not effective enough to cause cancer if you hold your phone for less than an avg 5-10 minutes at a time.
Long-term exposure to radiowaves (and I mean, if you tie your phone to your head like those cheap-ass people who don't choose to buy a BT headset) would mean death by cancer later on in your lives, more likely than the average user. The frequency of radiowaves does not provide enough energy to mutate DNA in the short-term.
Long-term exposure, as in you make 15-30 minute calls frequently/concurrently with your cell phone, can also be dangerous like the scenario above. But not as dangerous. More dangerous than infrequent call-making.
Rational, informed people with common sense are smart people. Not the uninformed who jump to idiotic conclusions, and certainly not the ignorant, who blatant disregard all warnings for their own happiness.
@shadowj0
I always stay on the phone for 20 minutes just to make sure that the girl really didn't pick and isn't putting me through some sort of test ;-)
@shadowj0, you have no idea what you're talking about, don't you? Next time, before you attempt to declare safe-talk time, educate yourself on non-ionizing radiation. Here is a freebie - BT uses the same kind of radiation as your cell phone.
@incognito
Moron - I know that BT uses the same RF waves. No need to downrank my comment. I'm just saying, who would keep their phone (which is bigger, and 99.9% of the time will emit more waves than BT headsets) tied next to their ear.
Simple wave physics. Stay in school, fool.
You guys know that those little holes on the glass that you see through into your microwave prevent microwaves from passing through them.... just saying, since light has a shorter wavelength it can.
@incognito
BT uses the same kind of radiation but the transmitted power is a fraction of the one transited by your cell phone. The cellphone has to propagate its signal for a very long distance compared to the BT that has to only transmit for a few feet. Not to mention walls or similar.
@yulebellow
I hope you dont just stand there and watch your food cooks?? wait ... microwave is suppose to use to cook foods???
ZOMG TEH DIET POPZ KILL 22222222222
Someone should tell her that while turning on her cellphone will cause way more RF emissions than in standby... Unless she turns it on just once a week.
Perhaps she should take some aluminum foil and make her a sexy hat.
Studies have shown a relation between red meats/fish and cancer. So have large doses of Vitamin C (found in most fruits/veggies*). Are they going to put labels on those too?
*Yes it is hard to OD on Vit C from dietary sources. It is water soluble & generally expelled in urine, but large doses of any vitamin can cause issues.
@vanmankline Water is a major component in cancer, will they ban that too?
@vanmankline - Yes there should be warning labels on vitamin suppliments that provide 40,000% of your daily Vitamin C intake.
People that take one of these every morning thinking they are watching out for their health not only have extremely expensive urine but can be harming themselves. This is especially the case with fat soluble vitamins.
Nearly all Americans used to smoke tobacco as well, ignorant of the true health risks. Consumer education via removable orange stickers is fine, but consumers should still have the right to do what they want. =)
@(Unverified), life is the greatest cause of cancer (and death for that matter). Water doesn't come even close :D
@incognito
By your train of thought, you should just kill yourself to avoid you experiencing cancer altogether. It's not that fun, from what I hear.
I've often wondered if the antenna at the *bottom* of the iPhone was a way to keep radiation slightly further from your brain.
Similarly, I wonder if antennas built in near the earpiece of most phones is better or worse than an external antenna that sticks up just above your ear. The built-in antenna might be safer because it's right against your ear and further from your brian, but it might be stronger to compensate for being built into the phone.
And I'm sure someone will start talking about wedging a bluetooth earpiece right into your ear, despite the fact that bluetooth is much lower-power than a phone transmitter...
@UnixSystemsEngineer
I also wonder if hands-free and speaker-phone technology is just trading thumb cancer for ear cancer. Then I remember that I don't care, because I don't want to live in a world without wireless communications, and I don't mind dying early for my beloved gadgets. Also, I keep my phone next to my sac, via my pockets, and I don't smoke.
It's a good thing im a nerdy geek. Devoid of social invention. My iPhone is used for everything but calls. Who needs friends anyway? ?
@PATRICKmcnicholl I think I need friends....@-@
@PATRICKmcnicholl i agree. also..i kinda see this as a filter for those dummies that spend their lives socializing. hopefully these phones will kill them off soon.
@PATRICKmcnicholl
It's not like you can make actual calls with the iPhone anyway.
I'm gonna die from cancer one way or another. With all the frequencies and waves that pass through my body everyday and all the shit that I breath in every second, the least of my worries is my cell phone. Seriously, I could care less.
@kenny goo couldn't*
@AndroidRokz
Actually "i could care less" is the correct expression. Doesn't make much sense but he is correct.
@James No, " I could care less" means that he does care about the radiation from his cell phone. But he also says that it is the least of his worries. The correct thing is "I couldn't care less". The thing is so many people say "I could care less" that it might seem to be correct.
@Nopehaventgotaname
The phrase "I could care less" and "I couldn't care less" mean the same thing (I don't care at all) in America. I agree that it should just be "I couldn't care less" but I was just pointing out that the OP was not wrong in using the former expression for saying he doesn't give a damn.
@Nopehaventgotaname
NO, YOU ARE WRONG. Before trying to spam correct grammar on a blog site, do some research. The phrase, as "incorrect" as it might sound, is "I could care less".
@James , et al.
They don't mean the same thing, the correct word is "couldn't"
Just because the dumb general masses started getting it wrong, doesn't mean that it's automatically correct now.
@all of you
You all need to get laid.
What a caveman.
@AndroidRokz: Grammar Nazi.
RF emissions?
We get more deadly radiation from that glowing ball in the sky than from a cell phone.
@LAY
The Norway spiral?
Spiral != Ball.
Way to make us proud, out-of-touch Maine Legislator.
As a resident of Maine, and good friends with a number of other Legislators, I can assure you this will get nowhere. There has been a recent flood of elected officials in the State House that are under 30; ie--they understand that a cellphone is something you don't actually talk on/hold to your head.
I DO, however, think it's about time the FCC makes cell phone manufacturers release the radiation levels they're forced to test in the first place...knowledge isn't harmful....unless it's harmful.
@TheJollyFellow
They do, Kind of...
Closest link i could find. CITA (Cellular Telephone Industries Association) is the one that publishes the yearly report. (Last updated Nov. 2009)
http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phone-radiation-levels/
@TheJollyFellow
Um...
MOT: http://rfhealth-sar.motorola.com/SAR/english/sarEnglish-results.jsp?standard=IEEE-1&prodid=Motorola+Droid
NOK: http://sar.nokia.com/sar/index.jsp
APPLE: http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/iphone_product_info_guide.pdf
RIM: docs.blackberry.com/en/smartphone_users/deliverables/4641/english_9530_SIB.pdf (and per device)
SAMSUNG: www.samsungmobile.com/sar/sar_main.jsp
...
It takes 5 seconds of google'ing. There is no conspiracy to keep this information hidden from the public.
I'm sure manufactures are really sweating any loss of sales they have from the tech crazy state of Maine
Oh Maine, you and your shenanigans
@camroncake
Home of great laws such as the one prohibiting you from looking at children:
http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080406/NEWS/804060343/-1/NEWS01
at least the sticker doesnt clash with the suave colorings of iphone.
How do you surf the web and text with the phone right up next to your ear? I don't understand why a phone would be near your head.
@reallynotnick
Very good. I bow to your wit. ohh.. look a penny.
Shouldn't that read "Killing Calls"?
:P
@Ice2097 damn you, i wanted that joke!
We have to be alert on this yeah...